DEEP

WATER
AUTHOR :

William Orville
Douglas
 GROUP MEMBERS

• BALJIT SINGH
• JASKARAN
SINGH
• P R I YA
• MEHAK
K O T WA N I
ABOUT THE
AUTHOR
 W I L L I A M ORvILLE DOuGLAS
(1898 –1980)
Born in USA

Douglas was a leading advocate of individual

rights. He was a judge at the Supreme court of
USA, retired in 1975 with a term lasting thirty-six
years and remains the longest-serving Justice
in the history of the court.
The following excerpt is taken from Of Men and
Mountains by William O. Douglas.
 Su m m a r y
This story has been taken from the author’s
autobiography- ‘Of Men and Mountains’.
In this piece he tells about his fear of water and
how he conquered it by determination and will
power.

As a child, when he was 3 or 4 years old, he

would go to the beach in California with his
father. He would get scared by the might of the
huge waves which swept over him and it instilled
a fear in his sub – conscious mind.
A few years later, in his eagerness to learn
swimming, he joined a swimming pool where an
incident further increased his terror. He was
pushed into the pool by another boy and
experienced death closely.

Many years after that incident, he stayed away

from water but the desire to go fishing and
swimming in nature was strong enough to
motivate him to overcome his fear.

He learned swimming with the help of an

instructor who ensured that William
knew
swimming well enough to be able to swim in
huge lakes and waterfalls also.
Still, when he would swim, the fear from his
childhood experiences, embedded in his sub-
conscious mind would grip him over and
over again. He wanted to conquer that fear.

He faced it sarcastically, thinking that now, as he

knew how to swim, what harm could it do to
him. He challenged his fear in the face of it and
finally it would vanish.
It was a baseless fear instilled in his
sub-conscious mind. This experience was
valuable for him. He had experienced terror and
death. He overcame it and finally conquered it.
William realized that death is peaceful and it is
the fear of death that is terrorizing. His will to live
life grew intensely as he had overcome his fear
and started living fearlessly.
 Dif f ic u l t
w o r Ds
• Y.M.C.A. – Young Men’s Christian Association
• Yakima – a place in Washington, USA
• Treacherous – dangerous
• Drop – slope from the shallow area to the deep
area
• Water wings - A pair of inflatable waterproof bags
designed so that one can be attached to each
arm, especially of a child learning to swim
• Skinny – thin
• Subdued – to overcome
• Pride – self-respect
• Aversion – dislike
• Surf – wave of the sea
• Knocked me down – threw him down
• Revived – brought back to mind
• To feel at ease – to feel comfortable
• Bruiser - a person who is tough and aggressive and
enjoys a fight or argument
• Specimen – example
• Summoned – gathered
• Spring – push
• Bob – jump
• Suffocating – unable to breathe due to lack of air
• Yell – scream
• Skinny – a thin person
• Ducked - push or plunge someone under water
• Expending – losing, giving out
• Ached – pained
•Throbbed – felt pain in a series of beats
•Dizzy – faint, unsteady
•Strategy – plan of action
•Strike out – extend
•Thrash – hit with force
• Stark – severe
• Seized – gripped
• Shrieking – screaming
• Paralysed – incapable of movement
• Pounding – repeated beating
• Oblivion - the state of being unaware or
unconscious of what is happening around one
• Curtain of life fell – life came to an end
 Q u est i o n
Q1. a
How doeser
n sw Douglas
s make clear to the
reader the sense of panic that gripped him as he
almost drowned? Describe the details that
have made the description vivid.
Q2. How did Douglas overcome his fear of
water?
Q3. Why does Douglas as an adult recount a
childhood experience of terror and his
conquering of it? What larger meaning does
he draw from this experience?
 B o a r d Questions
Q1: [CBSE paper, 2012]
How did Douglas develop an aversion to
water?
OR
Q2:[CBSE paper, 2015]
What happened at the YMCA
swimming pool which instilled fear of
water in
Douglas’ mind?

Q3:[CBSE paper, 2013]

How did the instructor turn Douglas into a
swimmer?
Q4:[CBSE paper, 2015]
Describe the efforts made by Douglas to
overcome his fear of water.

Q5:[CBSE paper, 2016]

How did his experience at the YMCA
swimming pool affect Douglas?